Gov. Andy Beshear had to postpone two press conferences on Tuesday due to illness.
He was scheduled to do a virtual ribbon-cutting along with 5th District Congressman Hal Rogers, Kentucky Senate President Robert Stivers and others to mark the completion of three projects in Perry, Floyd and Clay counties, funded with $14.05 million in Abandoned Mine Lands Pilot Program grants.
However, about an hour before it was to take place at 1 p. m. at the Capitol Rotunda in Frankfort, his office sent out an advisory stating, “This morning the First Lady and the Governor were not feeling well, and out of an abundance of caution, we are postponing today’s 1 p.m. news conference.”
Beshear was also scheduled to provide a COVID-19 update at 4 p. m. from the Rotunda, but about 45 minutes before is scheduled to begin, his office sent a notification postponing it as well. In which it said, “The Governor and his family have tested negative for COVID. After feeling ill earlier in the day, the Governor took the appropriate steps to protect those around him. He is feeling better but will provide tonight’s update via video and not a press conference.
On his Facebook page late Tuesday afternoon, Beshear recorded a message for Kentuckians.
“We’ve tested negative for COVID-19 after a real scare. And I want to thank everybody out there who sent their thoughts and their prayers,” the governor said. “This morning, late in the morning, I started feeling bad with a lot of the symptoms that can suggest COVID-19. Because of that, I immediately isolated and canceled events we had in the afternoon. A couple hours later, I was tested. And even the short wait that I had to endure gives me newfound empathy for those that are having to wait even a couple days to get their test results back, knowing that they may be separated from their family and wondering what their immediate future is going to be. So, I’m going to continue to try to lead with this empathy and hopefully it makes me a better governor in addressing this virus.”
His Communications Director, Crystal Staley, says the governor plans to hold another briefing Wednesday at 4 p.m.
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Written by Tom Latek. Cross-posted from Kentucky Today.